Happy Birthday, Sweet Munchkin!

Five years ago today, I was laying in a hospital bed having just received an epidural and feeling pretty good. About 4 hours later, a nurse placed in my hands something that would change my life forever. Matthew and I were thrilled (albeit he a little more relaxed and I a little more "what do I do with him?") to welcome Philip Walker Brooks to the world.

Wow, how time flies! Here's a look back on our sweet Philip through the years.



1-day-old Philip



1-year-old Philip



2-year-old Philip



3-year-old Philip



4-year-old Philip

5-year-old Philip! We love you so much and cannot wait to see what plans God has in store for you.

My Glimpse of Christmas

It's 2010, but I'm already looking back to 2009... for just a moment. I look forward to what all this year will hold, but am needing to close out the last year first. Here are my favorite moments.


















HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"You the Braewyn"

Braewyn is now into role playing, i.e. chef at her new kitchen, mommy with her baby dolls, and exchanging roles with me. She's now sitting at the kitchen table playing with play dough. She's cutting a piece of purple playdough with a plastic knife. She looks at me and says, "I'm making your lunch. I need to be careful, right Braewyn?"

Me: "Yes, Braewyn, be careful."

Braewyn: "No, I'm the mommy. You're the Braewyn."

Me: "Ok, mommy."

Lori's Christmas Recap

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I plan on blogging this afternoon, but in the meantime, here's a great recap of our Christmas week from my sister-in-law Lori's perspective! She did a great job putting this video together. Thanks, Lori! Miss you guys already. (Click on the green circle in the middle of the video to begin.)

Funny Video of the Week

Each week in our K-4 curriculum, there is a new song to learn. It either has to do with the letter of the week or our physical movement skill. This week Philip was to learn how to skip (which he did and I found to be harder to explain than I thought). Therefore the song selection was "Skip to My Lou". For about six weeks now, we've been going to YouTube, searching for the week's song, and enjoying a wide variety of interpretations. I should have been posting my favorites all along because I've been laughing out loud watching at least one of them each week.

Finally thought of the idea of sharing the joy. Here's my favorite YouTube video for "Skip to My Lou"!!

Christmas Encounter

Here's the cast photo from our church Christmas program. We had a lot of fun but it was a lot of hard work too. Kind of made up for not being in the high school musical back in the day. Plus this time I got to sing about Jesus!

More 25 Days of Christmas

And here we go with the rest of week 2...

December 8

Today's school craft called for decorating angels on paper plates. The kids enjoyed "painting" the angels with glitter glue. Very festive!



Philip also decided that our Little People nativity set should be placed under our tree.





That evening Matthew and I hit four stores in four hours and our Christmas shopping is complete. It was great as there were NO lines in any store probably due to it being a very cold, rainy night. Hey, we had a great time together and I am SO EXCITED for Christmas morning!

December 9

We spent a few hours outside this morning. It was miserably cold but the kids played in the driveway with ride-on toys and I hung Christmas lights on the front porch roof. Braewyn decided our Christmas reindeer could be a ride-on toy for Baby Green (yeah, I'm not really creative with the baby names). I put the lights on as I had on the other house porch and they just didn't look quite right. Quite off centered and not quite done.



Later in the day Philip began coloring his Poptarts box gingerbread house. I found the gingerbread flavored Poptarts to be my new favorite flavor. Probably should go buy a few more boxes before they are discontinued with the end of the holiday season. I finished the day with our final choir practice for "Christmas Encounter". We ran through it twice and everyone felt fairly comfortable.

December 10

Thursday night, we watched "Prep & Landing" together as a family. It was on Tuesday night so we taped it as that was our shopping night. Good thing too because we love it. I was skeptical as the commercials announced it as Disney's newest holiday special meaning to me, all commercialism and nothing traditional. Well, it was strictly Santa and no baby Jesus, but it was a spy movie for kids! The little elves arrive at the house before Santa and scope it out before hand. Very cute references to "The Night Before Christmas" story and teaches a great lesson: hard work is more important than notoriety.



December 11

I decided to venture back outside and rework the Christmas lights. Now they hang uniformly around the doorway of the porch and to either side. Not too flashy but very nice. Philip finished his Poptarts gingerbread house which is also very nice! At lunchtime, we watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" which was a great way to finish our school week. This week's story had been Luke 2:8-20, the passage Linus recites in the show to remind Charlie what Christmas is really about. Thank you, Linus! And next we watched "Prep & Landing" again.





December 12

Tonight was the first presentation of our church choir's program, "Christmas Encounter". It seemed to go very well although I'm so glad to have the chance to do it again tomorrow -- twice! Tonight I had a bad case of stagefright prior to walking into the sanctuary. The first song was pretty much garbled up but I eased into my pretend mall browsing after that. The last few songs were very worshipful and I pray anyone in the building who didn't know Jesus personally felt His love at that moment. We returned home tonight to watch "Prep & Landing" for a third time! Good night.

25 Days of Christmas

My friend Jessie mentioned in her blog about keeping a running list of her family's Christmas activities this month. I felt a little healthy competition rising up in me to see if I could keep up (and maybe I'll encourage you, Jessie, to keep going with yours too!). Well, here goes...

December 1
I attended MOPS in the morning. Our speaker discussed many fun ideas to do with your family during the Christmas season. She handed out a special menu to accompany "The Twelve Days of Christmas" song. I might try it. We also attended the Dickens Christmas festival in our town. I was very much looking forward to it, but likewise it didn't seem to keep our family's attention. We did stay from 6:15pm until 8:10pm outside in the cold because I was determined to stay for the tree lighting. The kids weren't that thrilled but were overall good sports. We ducked into a dance attire store where Philip and Braewyn each snagged a free cookie while I daydreamed about the day Braewyn might take dance lessons and wear the cute outfits. I did get a Christmas card photo which I'll post here after sending my cards out (got to keep my card recipients in suspense!).

December 2
This week's Bible story in Philip's school curriculum was Matthew 2:2-10, the arrival of the wisemen to worship baby Jesus. We discussed how far they had walked (a few years time) and how we're so glad we don't have to walk to church or the store (probably less than 5 miles which may have been a daily task in Jesus' day). That evening I attended choir practice which lasted from 6:00-8:00pm. Our Christmas program is this coming weekend (Dec. 12 @ 6:00pm, Dec. 13 @ 9:00am and 11:00am!! You should come if you live in town or want to visit.) so we're getting all the last minute kinks out.

December 3
I'm drawing a blank as to what we did Christmas-related on Thursday. Matthew and I attended a Gideon dinner while the kids did watch a Christmas movie with Nana and Papa. Maybe that counts.

December 4
Philip and I got all the Christmas decoration boxes down from the attic. When Braewyn woke up from her nap, I decided to make Christmas cookies with them. We had a great time but I'm sure that hosting a children's cooking class is not one of my spiritual gifts. We were moments away from covering the entire kitchen in flour but things turned out for the best.










That evening we bought our Christmas tree which is beautiful but looks small to me. Our last house had a vaulted ceiling so we could buy an 8 foot tree. This one is about 6 1/2 feet. Still beautiful and casts cool shadows on the wall from the LED lights on it.

December 5
I snuck away to the mall by myself! The mall commotion really doesn't bother me and especially not if I'm by myself going my own pace. I bought new glasses as my prescription has changed (for the better!) and picked up a few surprises for a few of the people in my house. Can't wait until Christmas morning... I know what Santa's bringing one special little girl! That evening we decorated the tree. I forgot that you have to teach someone how to put ornaments on the branches. Braewyn really didn't get it and so was happy just passing them to me to put on. I tried several times to have her do it, but she wasn't interested.

December 6
Last night we attended our church's children's Christmas program. It was very cute, but I had one child who sat and watched attentively and one child who pranced around in the aisle and crawled under the pews. Any takers on which was which? :)

December 7
Today in our school lessons, Philip and I read Luke 2:8-20, the story of the angels appearing to the shepherds. His memory verse for December is "Glory to God in the highest," Luke 2:14, so it was nice to read the surrounding passage. Tonight I again attended choir practice from 6:20-8:20pm. I think we're getting a little closer to being ready for "opening night". No matter what happens, I pray God is glorified!!

More Pics

Here's the recap of our awesome day at the State Fair. It's our second year running and this year was a tad more fun since Braewyn could really enjoy things also this time. Thank you again, Elise and Arden, for letting us "crash" your big family day at the fair. It worked out to be a cool field trip as we had just finished our "F" week in school. "F" is for Fair!!!

Our first Thanksgiving in our new house was likewise a wonderful day. Why not christen a house by inviting 15 people over for your first gathering? They were all beloved family members who love us just the same and plus it gave me a little fuel to get the house in order. Everyone brought an item to add to the menu, Matthew fried the turkey to a yummy crispiness, and the Foards (Matthew's great aunt's family) brought their cornhole set which provided great outside activity. So much fun in fact that Matthew's currently building one for us in the garage! Yeah, maybe I'll actually improve my cornhole skills.

Long time in coming

I finally decided to MAKE time to post something again on Blogger. Facebook has been easier to update recently so that's where I've been. Anyhow, I've really wanted to put photos of our new house on here since we've gotten to a place of feeling settled. In the days to come, I'll upload photos from our day at the state fair, Halloween, Thanksgiving and our homeschool activities. It will just be a time of playing catch up before Christmas is upon me.

I do thank the Lord daily for our new house ("Now it's just regular house because we've been here a while," Philip reminds me.) and look forward to sharing it with friends and family for years to come.

New book for the nightstand

I finally finished "One Tuesday Morning" which was a great book. Karen Kingsbury is truly as good a writer as I've heard people make her out to be. The book gave me insight into how September 11 would've affected the families of those New York City firefighters. Sad but so heroic. Also in the book's narrative you see how someone who has no personal faith in God comes to know Him as her own Lord and Savior. Great reminder for a girl who grew up in church of how God really can work in a person's heart and change their life.

Anyhow, on the the new book. After a few weeks of struggles with the kids, I was happy to find, "Have A New Kid By Friday" by Kevin Leman as I was opening up the boxes labeled "Books". I bought it a year ago but never got around to reading it. Now seems to be a great time!

I just read the introduction and chapter one, simply titled "Monday". It lays the groundwork by saying if you believe you should have a healthy level of authority over your children, this book is for you. I agree with that statement and am excited to begin implementing Leman's plan of action after finishing the book. The first guidelines he gives is the reaction I should give when confronted by my child (i.e. a temper tantrum, asking for something I know they don't need, etc.):

1. Say it one time (i.e. You don't need that; You're not having candy before breakfast.).

2. Turn your back (makes the child realize they no longer have your attention which is what they are after).

3. Walk away (Leman says do this even in public places because then the child no longer cares about winning the arguement but getting back in the safety of being near mom.).

I am already looking forward to seeing the results and I still have the Tuesday - Friday chapters to read. Click on the image of the book in my sidebar to link to it on Amazon.com.

A lot to say, a lot to do

We've been very busy and so I've neglected to set aside time to post on the blog. We all feeled settled in emotionally at our new home. Unfortunately it's that "cluttered at-home" feeling which might be why it's feeling like home. I have to tell myself to take a deep breath and dig my heels in. With a lot of hard work, this home can get to an orderly, decorated state which we lived in while the last house was on the market. It doesn't have to be perfect like I kept that one but I would love to one day buy a nice dining room table and have a room to put it in. My parents helped me unload the last of the items we had stored in the storage unit. Almost all of it was deposited in our dining room to join the many other boxes sitting there until they are unpacked and contents find real homes. Pictures are soon to come as I think we've gotten a lot done in the four weeks we've been here.

In other news... Braewyn is daytime potty-trained!! After several weeks (ahem, months!) of giving it half-hearted attempts, a week ago she walked into the bonus room wearing a t-shirt and panties and I said, "We're going with panties from now on." I almost reversed back to diapers after she wet her pants standing on the front porch as we were leaving for Bible study last Thursday (a week ago). Matthew encouraged me to keep her in panties and stick with it. Thankfully we did and she had been doing great... when I remember to escort her to the bathroom every few hours. I think we had a great milestone today as we attended our church's Harvest Fest with her in panties and no accidents in her Pooh Bear suit! On the way driving there, she said, "Need to go pee pee." We asked her to stay dry and she did all the way there, walking across the street, around the building, getting a few pieces of candy, signing in at the registration table and then heading to the bathroom!! Yeah, Braewyn!! I think the key was buying super cute Disney princess panties which she loves.

Philip is doing so well with his school work. Yes, it still takes a lot of work to get him motivated to start (especially after a few tv shows; I know, those mornings I'm shooting myself in the foot!) and not play with toys which are still floating around the disorganized bonus room floor. I'm so excited to look for an old book case at Goodwill and buy canvas totes to store all the toys. He has not only gotten super at writing his letters but is now asking me how to spell words which he then writes. And his drawings! I need to take pictures of his drawings to post as any piece of paper he gets his hands on, he'll cover the back with adorable pics of trees, animals and even his own rendition of The Fantastic Four which are his newest favorite super heroes.

We did have a great Halloween with attending Harvest Fest as I mentioned (games, rides, chili cheese fries!!), resting at home for a few hours, and then Trick-or-Treating on our street. We met about half of our neighbors. I was so excited! They all seem very nice. There's even a family with three kids who are homeschooling too. We hope to go to the park together sometime. After finishing collecting candy, we left our light on to provide some for other trick-or-treaters. I smiled every time the doorbell would ring and Philip would cry out, "We have customers!" So precious.

Bittersweet

Today my dear sweet 95-year-old friend Mrs. Cordie Hawkins passed away. I was heartbroken the moment Matthew told me as I've not seen her in a month. But in the same moment I rejoiced! Mrs. Cordie has loved Jesus for most of her life and now she is in His presence. Also she is free from her earthly body and all it's ailments. And also she is now reunited with her husband, her parents and three of her children who passed away before her. I cherished my friendship with Mrs. Cordie as our conversations allowed me to see things from her perspective, one that did not involve the fast-paced, materialism-driven culture in which I live.

Mrs. Cordie was born in North Carolina and then moved to this area as a girl. She married and had nine children, six boys and three girls. They had a farm and built a house on that land in the 1960's. She lived in that same home until her death. I have been blessed to get to know all six of her still living children who all live nearby. I don't know how often I will see them from now on as it was at Mrs. Cordie's home I ran into them.

After telling Philip that Mrs. Cordie has died and now is in heaven, I asked him if he was sad. He said, "No, I'm not sad. Don't you remember that we're going to heaven too and we'll see her there!" It made my heart soar.

I do praise God for that hope. It's not a hope like "I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow." But instead a hope to come of what has already been promised to me.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him." 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Here is Mrs. Cordie with Philip and Braewyn.







I love you, Mrs. Cordie. I'll see you soon!!

Moving from here to there

This last week has been hectic yet exciting. I thought moving would be a breeze but honestly after living with our old house "show ready" for almost 5 months, the transition of packing and bringing everything to the new house was a little unnerving for me. Thankfully we had several friends and family members help in the move (Thank you, Mom & Dad, Ruth Ann, Michael, and Jennifer & Gregg!) and then my Mom and Aunt Cindy a few days later. Elise, bless you for the yummy meal!

I praise God again for blessing us with this beautiful new home as it really meets all the criteria we were looking for. I pray it will be a house where our family and friends can come and feel the love of Christ through us. More pics to come as we get the kids' room finished and devise a plan to organize the bonus room.